Haptic feedback is a tactile feedback mechanism that utilizes the sense of touch. When used in conjunction with a control system the tactile feedback provides sensory cues to the user which indicates a certain event is happening to the object being controlled. For example, in an airplane simulation, visual indications of heavy turbulence may not be sufficient to alert the user to the conditions. However, by adding haptic feedback to a joystick controller in the form of vibrations, the user is more likely perceive the turbulence.
In a controller, an electrical stimulus activates an actuator which then provides mechanical motion to the controller. The mechanical motion is often vibratory. Early haptic feedback systems utilized electromagnetic technologies that moved a central mass with an applied magnetic field. Newer technologies such as electroactive polymers, piezoelectric, electrostatic and subsonic audio wave surface actuation can be used to create haptic feedback as well. These technologies allow for a more dynamic range of sensations to be produced.
In video games and simulators, haptic feedback has become a common addition to controllers. The haptic feedback capabilities in devices like Sony Computer Entertainment's Dual Shock family of controllers provide a more immersive gaming experience. However, each video game or simulator must have been programmed to provide the haptic stimulus to the controller in order to utilize the haptic feedback. Often legacy games designed for older gaming systems do not provide this haptic stimulus. Therefore, when legacy games are emulated so they can be played on more modern systems the emulated game will not have haptic feedback even though the controllers are capable of supporting this additional feature.
Presently, the legacy games must be redesigned by incorporating new code in order to provide the stimulus necessary for haptic feedback to be enabled. This is often not practical when designing an emulator to run the legacy game on a new system, due to the extensive time and resources that must be devoted to the task. Therefore, there is a need in the art to allow an emulator to add haptic feedback to legacy games and simulators without having to alter the code.